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PacSun kicks off spring, new positioning with party

PacSun hosted a party, fashion show and meeting for employees and vendors to kick off spring Thursday at its headquarters in Anaheim.

CEO Gary Schoenfeld explained some of the new positioning for PacSun and what it wants to represent in the marketplace.

PacSun will represent the passion of California – the spirit, the energy, the optimism. It wants to own the California lifestyle, he said, which is creative, unexpected and active.

The company wants to help its customers be explorers of style who reinvent themselves when they open their closet.

PacSun also wants to be creators of culture – to make something, to risk something, and to be instigators of fun.

The company is cleaning up its logo and is removing the “Flintstone” elements, Gary said, which brought applause from the audience.

Gary also unveiled pieces of PacSun’s major new marketing campaign, which is pretty different and unexpected. Alas, I promised I would not report on those details until the campaign is closer to launch.

As far as being instigators of fun, the company has a pretty creative marketing event coming up in May that involves bikinis and dancing that will definitely grab some attention. Again, I think I’ll save the reporting on that one for a later date so they can keep the idea under wraps for awhile.

In April, PacSun will launch a redesigned website that more prominently features brands and makes the site easier to shop. An iPhone application will also launch, and stores will have redesigned shopping bags.

Gary acknowledged the company’s tough earnings released earlier this weak, saying holiday definitely wasn’t a holiday for the company. But he expressed a lot of optimism about the spring and summer, which is PacSun’s time to shine, he said.

The company also recognized five employees at the meeting who embody the five key values Gary and his team brainstormed for PacSun: trust, creativity, individual excellence, teamwork and winning. I have photos of four of the five winners getting their awards in the slide show, above. Linda Fleming didn't attend the event.